


no god can help now

by Finally_Home



Series: based on songs [9]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Homophobia, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Religious Conflict, Song: Witch Hunt (Megurine Luka), Witch Hunts, burning at the stake, idk what to tag this with i'm sorry, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28892016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finally_Home/pseuds/Finally_Home
Summary: Witness the cleansing of your sin. Come, Kun, gaze into the eyes of the Devil and let him tempt you no more.But Ten’s no Devil. He’s just a boy, he's Kun’s best friend, he’s just Ten.He's just Ten, and he’s just in love.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Series: based on songs [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755427
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	no god can help now

**Author's Note:**

> [jubyphonic - witch hunt (english)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJBH70Lntro)   
>  [megurine luka - witch hunt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJtSKfbQdM)

_ Come now, open your eyes look up to flames in the sky _

_ Come now, do not forget those embers are the final judge _

How did it come to this? The village gathers, but he can only stand in the shadows. How did it come to this? he wonders again, over and over. How? It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Ten was the good one, he was the jokester, the person no one was supposed to take seriously.

It must be close to sunset. Deep gold washes over the land, over the tile roofs of the village, over the pile of wood in the center plaza, over Ten. His eyes are closed, as if he’s sleeping, but Kun knows better. He’ll be awake, listening to every word flying around, absorbing all of the villagers’ hate and disgust. His hands are bound behind him, tied to the tall wooden post stretching into the sky, as if to reach out to God.

But God won’t help him now. God is not on his side. God sides with the anger of the villagers, the stones slicing through the air to land and leave red marks on his skin, the smokiness of the oak logs that they pile at his feet. God sides with the flames that will inevitably light up the night.

God sides with hate.

_ No need for a magic to stop time, no spell can achieve what I feel _

He first fell in love with Ten’s smile. The bright, curvy-eyed smile that appeared whenever they met. Oh, Kun! he’d say, turning his body towards him. What are you doing here?

Ten worked at a flower shop. Kun, the baker’s apprentice, had no need for flowers, but he came every day regardless, snatching up his half-hour lunch break to sit in the florist’s shop and watch Ten sort flowers.

This is a geranium, Ten would say, holding up the flower to the light. It means happiness or good health. It’s for you, take it.

Then, without warning, he’d reach over and brush Kun’s hair aside, sticking the flower behind his ear. Sometimes, Kun would choke on his bread and cheese, but most times, he’d only freeze, cheeks flushing with heat.

Ten knew. There was no way he didn’t know, and that was why he did it in the first place. Ten read emotions clearer than day, and Kun saw in his cat-like smile that he didn’t mind. So he kept coming, and Ten kept giving.

Red carnation, alas my heart aches. Calla lily, beauty. Yarrow, everlasting love. Red tulip, passion. Yellow jasmine, amiability. Heliotrope, devotion. Pink camellia, longing for you.

Kun didn’t know the meanings of these flowers, but it was okay, because one day, Ten gave him a rose.

A red rose.

And he’d have to be an idiot to not know the meaning of that.

_ Let it light, let it burn out bright and with it all your spite _

The sun sets ever slowly. Kun wishes it would just stop. The tree he’s hiding behind won’t hide him forever; at some point, the baker will realize that he’s missing and come to find him. Witness the cleansing of your sin, he’d declare, iron grip pressing bruises into his arm. Come, Kun, gaze into the eyes of the Devil and let him tempt you no more.

The Devil? Ten, the Devil? Kun could laugh at that. Ten’s no Devil, he’s just Ten. He’s just a boy, the florist’s apprentice, Kun’s best friend, a lingering touch, a hint of a smile. He’s not a sinner, he’s not a Devil, he’s not anything the villagers claim.

He’s just Ten.

He’s just Ten, and he’s just in love.

The bark of the tree draws blood from Kun’s nails, but he holds on, clings tighter. Ten’s head is lowered, his eyes still closed, while the villagers gather more and more. Eventually, they will block Kun’s view, and then he’ll join them. He’ll press his way through the crowd, who will recognize him as the one who was tempted, the one who was cleansed and repented.

They will let him to the front, and he will face Ten with the knowledge of all that is right, wrong, in between, or none.

_ Virtue you couldn’t keep turned to vice _

He can’t remember why they were caught. One of them wasn’t careful enough, that must be true, but who, and how? Was it Kun, talking to his master the baker about his escapades with Ten? Was it Ten, talking to his master the florist about his idle days with Kun? Does it even matter anymore, at this point?

News spread like a forest fire, ripping through the village until the two were left in ashes. It was impossible to show their faces, less possible even to escape. They’d talked about it, once, what they’d do if they were found out. We’ll run, Ten had promised, cupping Kun’s face in his hands with a tender kiss. We’ll run, live in the forest, then no one can find us.

But when the time came, neither could. Kun wouldn’t, out of fear, and Ten stayed for him, because a life without Kun wasn’t a life without living.

That’s what he’d said when the Father shoved them down to the ground, knees stinging from the force, cheeks pressed against the cold stone altar. All he had to do was repent, all he had to do was regret it, take it back, promise he’d change and purify himself with the holy water. That was all he had to do, but Ten was nothing if not stubborn.

Is love a sin? he’d asked loudly, voice ringing in the bustling chapel. The villagers stilled then, from shock or fear Kun didn’t know. Is loving someone a sin? If it is, then I’d rather sin, over and over, rather than live without him. My soul is tainted already, black with love, only because it’s not the kind of love that you think is right. But is there—

He never finished his sentence. The slap resonated in the church, but what Kun remembers most is the tears. Ten’s tears, streaming down his face as he screamed and struggled as they dragged him away. He remembers the fight and fire in his eyes, the curses he spat out, the moment their eyes met and the moment the door slammed shut.

You don’t know what love is! You’re all hypocrites, all of you! I love him, I love him and I don’t regret it, wouldn’t ever, not even to death! Kun! Kun! I love you!

But Kun couldn’t say it back.

_ No god can help her find her way! _

Night falls in a shower of flames, the torches making their way towards the plaza in a line of blaze. Kun hides in the shadows of the crowd, close enough to see Ten’s face but not close enough for Ten to see him. It’s enough like this, he thinks, but when the mayor steps up with a torch, his heart tears apart.

Today we gather, the mayor announces, and a hush falls over the crowd, to witness the cleansing of a sinner beyond the boundary of penitence. Not even the grace of God can save him, and we will send him to meet with his master the Devil, who has made its home in his heart.

Kun doesn’t hear any more. Faintly, Ten laughs, raising his head. He looks into the crowd, eyes hard, gaze not searching, lips curved in a mocking smile. He’s not the same Ten that Kun fell in love with, but he’s still the same Ten that Kun knows. The sharpness of his eyes, the determined set of his jaw, the confidence that makes his entire being glow. He’s still Ten. He hasn’t lost himself.

Do you have anything to say? the mayor asks. The fire from the torch lights up his face, licking greedily at his hair. Ten’s smile only grows wider, bitter and angry. I have no sin, he says, voice hard and clear. There is no sin in love. I love him with my life, and if it will help him live, then I’ll love him with my death too.

The crowd explodes, pushing and shoving. Kun stumbles. They seek blood, they want Ten’s blood, and they’ll get it tonight. As soon as the mayor drops his torch, the flames will erupt, climbing the fabric of Ten’s clothing and devouring his body in a flash of light.

Is it painful? he wants to ask. Don’t let him suffer. Can you let him go?

Don’t! Kun yells, lunging forward. The crowd breaks and he falls to the ground in front of Ten. Don’t, don’t do it, Ten, don’t do it, don’t, please, please, don’t.

Arms drag him back. Stay out of it! We let you go once! You can burn too! But all Kun can see is Ten, the smile on his face, and the flames. Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn the sinner! Burn!

Ten has always shone like a star, and tonight, he burns like one too.

_ Like a flame burning bloody red and tearing into sky _

_ Feel now the weight of death and lies _

**Author's Note:**

> [english lyrics](https://jubyphonics.wordpress.com/tag/witch-hunt) by jubyphonic  
> [flower meanings](https://www.almanac.com/content/flower-meanings-language-flowers#flower-meanings)
> 
> wow this was... smth i wrote in like two hours. i somehow was looking at the [let it go 25 language hetaloid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOdCVhwYTuk) video and one thing let to another and i ended up listening to juby's cover of witch hunt again and i was like h u h these lyrics are great andddd yeah. that's the story.
> 
> this was a mindless thing that i wrote to procrastinate and distract myself from the fact that school starts in like ten days AAAAAAAAaa don't remind me i'm not ready and i think i'm going to pass out if i think about it at all and no, i am not a good student :( also i need to sleep aghghsg my sleep schedule is fucked and my self-esteem is down the hole again (not that it's ever been out of it lol)


End file.
